MOORE is less in Fahrenheit 11/9 and that’s a good thing.
Perhaps because it’s hard to make Donald Trump up, perhaps because the story of his ascension to POTUS is too unbelievable for any ordinary narrative to outdo, documentary maker Michael Moore’s tendency to outright propaganda is somewhat muted here, which actually adds weight to his argument.
Fahrenheit 11/9 refers to his 2004 documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 while spelling out the date Trump won the 2016 election, November 9.
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READ NOWThere is an eye-watering sequence that lays the blame at the manicured feet of pop diva Gwen Stefani.
When the Donald (Trump) found out the star of The Voice was being paid more by NBC than he was for The Apprentice, his genius play was a fake presidential run with a paid audience.
Inflammatory remarks led to his dumping by the network and then deciding to do a couple of presidential rallies already paid for, at the urging of his sons.
Reality television became the reality we’re now living through.
While not two hours of Trump bashing per se, it’s hardly a love letter to a figure he has known for decades.
Trump ally Rick Snyder, the governor of Moore’s home state Michigan, plays a big role too.
How a predominantly African-American town, Moore’s home town of Flint, formerly connected to one of the great natural water systems, transforms to a lead-poisoned, all-but-defeated community due to an inferior water source, is best explained through seeing the film.
After all, Moore knows how to craft a polemic.
But even a Moore stunt, the mainstay of his approach to civics and documentary making, lacks some oomph here when aimed at Snyder.
He seems to place his faith in humanity in grassroots activism, particularly the remarkable student leaders of the response to the Parkland shooting.
Like reality stars Trump and Stefani, you be the judge of where America is heading. Moore would have you believe it’s your show, after all.
THE ESSENTIALS
Fahrenheit 11/9
Director: Michael Moore
Four stars
In cinemas now